Meanwhile in the TARDIS
by Web of Obsidian
Summary: A side-story based off of another story I'm working on, "An Awful Lot of Running to Do". Features Jenny and the Doctor, multiple incarnations, multiple companions, series of short interludes set anywhere after "The Doctor's Daughter" in Series Four and most likely not in chronological order.
1. Entry

The four slowly made their way through the hallways of the base. The humans and the Hath were somewhere behind them, probably still in shock or attempting to figure out what happened. Dead people don't wake up after being dead, because they're dead and can't be alive. Simple logic. The Doctor was too busy rambling on and on to care, Jenny hanging on his every word. Donna and Martha could only smile and watch. They'd seen the Doctor happy, but they'd never seen him like this. It wasn't happiness or ecstasy and it wasn't quite joy, but sort of a mix of the three, and it made them happy to see him like that.

"You're going to love it!" he exclaimed. "We can go to Akhaten, you'll love it there, they've got _tons _of food and places to shop, oh, and the Waves of Prosperity in the Andromeda Galaxy, went there once, never got around to going back, we can do that too- and there she is!

He laughed and bounded up towards the familiar blue doors of the TARDIS, rummaging around in his pockets until he found the key. Martha and Donna were both grinning widely in anticipation, and while Jenny currently seemed to have an unlimited supply of energy, her cheerful expression seemed to falter at the sight of the small, battered wooden box.

"Go on!"

She blinked and looked over at her father, who had pushed the doors open and was standing to one side, waiting for her to walk in. Hesitantly, she walked forwards and through the entryway...

_Wow_.

It was...! Well, she didn't really know what to say, what to think. It was _huge_, for one thing. There was no way that box could have that room just... just _crammed _inside. But looking back, she could see the three standing in the hallway, beaming, and she could see the walls outside the doors and there was no way that this room could fit in between those walls.

"...Bigger on the inside," she whispered after a moment, spinning around. There were stairs leading up to a console in the center of the room, a hallway going off to somewhere (there was _more_-?), massive pillars that branched off into y-shapes crawled up towards the ceiling, and all of the walls were indented with roundels. The floor was made of metal grating, and she could see the circuitry underneath.

"Isn't it?" her father laughed.

"It's humming." She could feel the floor vibrating under her boots, and the console seemed almost welcoming. "Is that the engines?"

"Nah," he replied, waving a hand dismissively, throwing an arm over her shoulder as they walked up the small set of stairs. Donna and Martha trailed along behind. "And she's not an _it_, she's a she."

"But it's a- sorry, _she's _a ship."

"She's bigger on the inside, Jen," the Doctor grinned. "You're looking at massive technology. She's _alive_, Jenny, that humming is her way of saying hello."

"Oh!" She looked around again, biting her lip, then gave the console an awkward wave. "Um, hello."

There wasn't a verbal reply, but the humming seemed to grow a bit louder and the lights in the wall brightened.

"She likes you!" he exclaimed. "I'll teach you how to fly her soon enough, but for now, we have a trip back to Earth. You'll like Earth, lovely planet, that's where Donna and Martha are from, you know! And they've got a fascinating history, too! See, in what they classify as the 14th century..."

_He sure talks a lot_, she thought as she clung to the console for dear life. _And I don't know if this ship is actually supposed to be this bumpy, but she can't mind, if she keeps flying like this. Oh, this is going to be fantastic!_

* * *

**Here you have it, then! First installment in _Meanwhile in the TARDIS, _which, as many of you probably know, is a spin-off of my other story, _An Awful Lot of Running to Do_. You can read this separately, if you like, but I recommend reading both. Chapters will very greatly in length, some will be about this length and many of them will be a lot longer. Sporadic updates. Hope you enjoy!**

**~~~Obsidian**


	2. After the Eleventh Hour

**Setting: after the events of "The Eleventh Hour"**

**Eleventh Doctor, Jenny**

* * *

The steady thrum of the TARDIS console echoed around the room, the Doctor gleefully bouncing about with a massive smile on his face, letting out a whoop of joy as he pulled down yet another lever and sent them spiraling into the Vortex.

_His laughter is practically contagious_, Jenny thought to herself with an equally massive smile. She moved forwards to join him, but her jubilation was replaced by a wash of pain and confusion as her legs chose that moment to give out, and she pitched forwards.

The Doctor was at her side in a heartsbeat, his hands underneath her arms to steady her while her own hands clutched at his jacket. His face was one of pure concern before it morphed into something else, something similar but not quite the same thing.

"Oh, you poor girl," he said quietly. Jenny blinked. "Look at me, I'm a daft old fool, aren't I? You were hurt but I was the one to regenerate. On top of that you nearly got turned into a smoothie when I crashed the TARDIS, and then you came gallivanting after me while I flounced about like a madman and I didn't even notice. As a father, that was a huge mistake on my part, and I apologize. Now, come here."

He had scooped her up into his arms before she could protest, only managing a yelp as her feet left the floor.

"What- what are you doing?" she asked as he began carefully walking back towards the console, then past it, and then into the labyrinth of corridors had he gone from joy to this seriousness in less that a minute? It seemed surreal, and she was a bit worried.

"You're going to your room," he replied in an upbeat tone. "Time for a nap, daughter mine."

"Dad, I'm-"

"Just listen to me on this, Jen," he said before she could finish. "Doctor's orders." Jenny rolled her eyes, but allowed herself to be carried along. He set her down when they reached a familiar blue door.

"Here we are," he said happily, opening the door for her. Come to think of it, she _was_ getting a bit tired... "Go on, change into something more comfortable."

Not entirely sure what her father was thinking, she stepped into the familiar comforts of her bedroom; dark green walls and blue curtains covering simulated windows that would create sunlight or moonlight if she wanted them to, stacks of books everywhere on every other subject, bed, wardrobe, etc... She gingerly changed into a more comfortable set of clothes and tossed the older ones into a basket in the corner. Shame, she really liked that pair of pants...

Opening the door, she found her father absentmindedly toying with a yo-yo, which he promptly dropped a moment later. Jenny laughed.

"Hush, you," he said, smiling as well as he tweaked her nose. He sat down on her bed in the corner, then patted the mattress next to him. She slowly followed suit.

"How badly do you think you're hurt?" he asked, smiling slipping away into seriousness.

"I'm f-"

The Doctor gave her a pointed look.

"Really, though! I can just sleep it off, I'll be fine!"

"Stop being stubborn!" he groaned. "I'm the only one who's allowed to be stubborn here! _Please_, Jenny. Let me help you."

There was a long, heavy silence.

"Mostly just bruising," she finally mumbled. "Couple nasty scrapes, probably some cracked ribs."

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" her father replied, then sighed when she didn't reply. "Jen." She glanced down. "Jenny, come on, look at me. It's not something to be ashamed about. Everyone gets hurt once in a while, that doesn't make you weak."

"Tactical disadvantage," she replied softly.

"It's generally me against the galaxy, Jen, I'm always at a tactical disadvantage. Now, if you wanted to, you could just sleep this whole mess out and then we can go back to see Amelia-"

"We're going back for her?"

"Of course we are! She's waited long enough, she deserves a trip or three in the TARDIS. And as I was saying, you could just sleep this whole mess out, _or_ we could take Option #2."

"What would that be?"

"See, Jen," he said quietly. "I'm still _technically_ in the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle and your DNA is essentially the exact same as mine, which means, since I am incredibly brilliant and just a bit mad, that I can do this." He carefully took her hands in his.

It started as a faint tingle, the lightest of spring breezes weaving through the air, but then it grew to something stronger and Jenny could feel the pure energy coursing through her body, golden light twisting and illuminating the whole room. She felt alive and drained at the same time, and it was _magnificent_.

A moment later the light faded, and she blearily looked up at her dad.

"Feel better now..." she mumbled, leaning into her father's arms. He chuckled softly and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"There we go," he murmured.. "All better now, eh?"

Jenny, already asleep, didn't respond. The Doctor carefully eased her onto the bed and gently pulled the blankets up around her, then brushed a few stray locks of hair out of her face.

"Goodnight, Jenny," he whispered, turning out the lights. "Sweet dreams."


	3. Malokeh's Regret

**Setting: the very beginning of "Cold Blood", after Jenny, Mo, and Amy split up but before the execution is prevented**

**Eldane, Malokeh, Jenny**

* * *

Malokeh and Eldane walked down the hallways at a brisk pace. It was never befitting of a leader to run, or even to rush or hurry from place to place, but as he had once heard from the mouth of an ape, desperate times called for desperate measures.

"She is going to execute them, but I don't believe that they have done anything wrong," he explained urgently. "I understand that the planet is ours, but I have seen them evolve. They are clever creatures, now, and they do not remember us. They are rightfully indignant."

"I understand, Malokeh," Eldane said calmly.

They walked for a little while longer, until Eldane stopped again and Malokeh stopped beside him. The elder turned to the scientist. "Now, tell me, is this a mere aftereffect of the stasis, or do you hear music?"

They stopped for just a moment, and indeed, a couple corridors down, there was an ape sitting against the wall, singing.

Well, not an ape. Malokeh recognized the alien child with the yellow hair from his laboratory. She was dressed in an old coat of his, similar to the one he was wearing now, and it was wrapped tightly around her to preserve her modesty. Her hair - that was a silly thing, hair. Why would evolution deem it necessary to have thick tufts of it on the head and nowhere else? - was plastered to her forehead with sweat, and her entire body was shaking. In her hands was a Silurian weapon, perhaps scavenged from the stasis pods, but she wasn't holding it. It was resting in her lap. Her eyes - _he remembered her eyes, blue and full of life but so terrified_ - were shut and her lips were moving as she stumbled through a faltering tune. The words were unfamiliar to him.

"Child?" Eldane murmured.

The singing stopped, her eyes flew open, and in an instant the girl was on her feet, weapon aimed directly at them. Malokeh couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret as she swayed unsteadily, and even if she did have the will to shoot them she would probably miss, her hands were trembling so much.

"Back," she said quietly. "Back, both of you."

The two took a slow step backwards, warily watching her.

"We mean you no harm," Eldane said calmly. "There is an unfair execution about to take place, and I wish to stop it."

She frowned.

"Amy was going to save them," she murmured. "Said she would..."

"Amy?" Eldane whispered to Malokeh.

"An ape with hair the color of fire," Malokeh replied just as softly, then raised his voice. "They were captured," he said to the girl. "We must hurry."

She nodded slowly, as though the procedures she had undergone had slowed down the thought processes of her mind.

"I'm coming with you," she said, dropping the weapon to one side. Her eyes were dulled and unfocused. "My dad's there, I need to help him... need to..."

"Time is of the essence," Eldane said firmly. "Speak as we make our way toward the ceremony."

The two Silurians resumed their quick pace, but slowed down as the girl could only stumble forwards a couple of steps before tilting to one side into the wall. The two Silurians merely hooked their arms underneath hers and helped her along.

"Talk, child," Eldane said gently. "What happened?"

She made a vague gesture towards Malokeh and mumbled a series of strange words utterly foreign to their ears.

"She came with the humans through the earth," Malokeh said quickly. "She knew of human anatomy, but claimed to be different. Two hearts, Eldane, two hearts!" The leader glanced over at the exhausted girl. "I did the standard procedure for any new life form." He paused for a moment in speech as they sped up their pace. "Well, not the standard procedure. If I did that it would require removing all of the organs and placing them in stasis for further analysis, but you haven't seen them _evolve_. Just a mere three centuries ago they were using rudimentary firearms, by this point they can travel to outer space and fly halfway around the planet in a space of hours. This is kinder, less painful..."

The girl mumbled something in the strange language once more, and Eldane looked at her curiously.

"Where do you hail from, child?" he asked. "What are you saying?"

She blinked a few times in confusion before sighing slightly. "Gallifrey..." she murmured. "_Patierfa, patierfa..._"

"Gallifrey," the elder Silurian repeated slowly. "Surely not."

"Eldane, what does she speak of? What is Gallifrey?"

Eldane looked over at him. "They called it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. A planet of glory and honor, ruled by the mighty Time Lords. Even Siluria was considered inferior to their might, but then they vanished without a trace. All of them gone, the planet, the people. Nothing left. This child is impossible."

"_Patierfa..._" the girl repeated again. "War..."

"Are you sure that the procedures did not harm her?" Eldane asked.

"She should not have become so active in such a short time. Her endurance is far higher than that of an ape," Malokeh responded. "Child, forgive me."

The girl looked up at him in confusion. The fear was gone from her eyes, only a sort of wary look that only comes on a child meeting a stranger for the first time.

"I am sorry," he said gently. "It was necessary. I do not wish pain upon you or any other."

They rounded another corner, nearing the execution hall.

"S'okay," the girl whispered. "S'okay..."

Restac's voice could be heard, and Eldane strode forwards, throwing the doors to the hall open.

"_Stop!"_


End file.
